The Timid Boy
by hbm123
Summary: Neville is a shy, and nervous boy, caused in no small part by his Gran. What will happen when he goes to Hogwarts, and escapes the ever nagging women. Harry Potter and the Scorer's/Philosopher's Stone from Neville's POV cannon compliant
1. Off to Hogwarts

Off to Hogwarts

Neville Longbottom, was a short, round faced, dark haired boy, and as he hurried around the house anxiously trying to remember everything he had forgotten, he couldn't help but be nervous about his first day at Hogwarts school of Witch Craft and Wizardry

It was a miracle Neville had gotten in in the first place. He didn't start showing signs of magical ability until age eight, a year later than most wizards and even then it was only small things. He had made a spoon float half an inch off the table, or he had made the vulture on his grandmother's favorite hat make a nearly imperceptible twitch.

The first time he had done anything magical it was out of fear more than anything else. His Great Uncle Algie was constantly trying to scare him into doing magic, the one dad he had been hanging Neville out of a window when he accidently dropped him. He then watched in astonishment as Neville bounced through the garden and all the way out to the road. The family was thrilled, especially his Gran with whom he lived. His Great Uncle even bought him a toad, which was just as much as an I'm sorry gift as it was a congratulations one.

However as the next three years drug on Mrs. Longbottom became less and less thrilled as Neville kept repeating the same few tricks never improving any. "How could you have such little power!" she shouted hopelessly one day after Neville had passed out trying to get a spoon to fly across the room. "Your mother and father were two of the most celebrated witches and wizards of their age and you have less magical ability than a house-elf!" She had regretted the words almost immediately after she had said them, Neville could see it in her eyes, and could tell that she was truly sorry, but he honestly didn't care.

He had never really known his parents nor of their magical ability they had gone insane when he was very young. He had heard stories about them, seen countless pictures, and knew that they had fought You-Know-Who until the end, but this was little comfort to a boy who had grown up without a mother and father.

None of that mattered today though he was going to be at Hogwarts by the end of the day, warm and snug in the dormitory of whatever house he was sorted into, after have eaten more than his fill of the magnificent feast that, according to his grandmother, always welcomed students after the sorting. He was certain he had packed everything when his grandmother came bustling in with the last of his freshly laundered school robes.

"Here you go Neville", she said as she set them at the top of the trunk and closed the lid,"Have you got Trevor?" she asked. He let out a gasp he had almost forgotten his toad! He looked around nervously trying to see where he had tried to escape to this time.

"Oh dear", his grandmother said with air of hopelessness "accio Trevor", she called and the toad flew straight into her hand, "now try not to lose him on the train, It wouldn't give a good impression to cause chaos right off the bat"

Trevor had been a gift from Neville's Great Uncle Algie, he, as had the rest of Neville's family, had been thrilled when Neville was accepted into Hogwarts. However Trevor did not seemed too thrilled to be a pet, and he was continually trying to run off every chance he got.

"Yes ma'am", said Neville while struggling to keep Trevor in his grip.

"Now we better go or you'll miss the train", she said wiping off dust unnecessarily from Neville's muggle clothes. "Do you have everything?"

At this Neville went slightly red, Neville hardly ever had everything he needed, and even though he had quadruple checked that he had everything he was still not entirely sure. "I think", he said unconvincingly.

"I suppose when you figure out what you've forgotten I can send it to you with the post tomorrow", she said sternly. Most of Neville's family was elderly like his grandmother and, Neville felt, had forgotten what it was like to be a kid, and were constantly harassing him about everything he did.

"Well come on then" she said, and he grabbed hold of her arm with one hand while trying to keep hole of his trunk and Trevor in the other. Suddenly he had the feeling that he was being sucked in on himself like soon he'd be just a tiny spec that within which his entire body fit. He was side-along-disapperating with his Gran something he had done many times before. Then as suddenly has it had started he was unfolding and when he looked around he was no longer inside his living room, but in an alley beside Kings Cross station.

"Alright Neville this way", she bellowed.

"Gran?" Neville began timidly.

"Yes, Neville", she said

"What was dad like?"

"What?" she asked only half paying attention

"Dad, what was he like on his way to Hogwarts?"

Augusta was giving him his full attention now; she always jumped at a chance to talk about her son. "He was a bit afraid at first; the thought of having to walk through a wall seemed to scare him a bit." Neville knew exactly how he must of felt, it was scaring him too. "He was very brave though; quiet keen not to show his fear." Neville imagined his father, trying not to show his mother what he was afraid of. "He of course had been preparing since he was three", she said disdainfully, "He had been able to do all kinds of magic by the time he went to Hogwarts". At this Neville's insides had turned ice cold, as they did every time his Gran made a reference to how little magical ability he had shown.

Then suddenly Neville was overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Kings Cross. He had never been there when it was so full, specifically so full of wizards, and it was painfully obvious who was, and who was not a wizard. Many witches and wizards wore odd assortments of muggle clothes, including one man who was strolling around in a top hat, a women's blouse, a skirt, and a pair of knee high socks that were coming out of sandals.

"Pitiful", spat his Gran as she too saw the man walking by "you would think these people would put a little more effort into concealing themselves."

Neville, who chose not to answer, continued starring around at other wizards. One was strolling around in night clothes, while another was wearing an odd assortment of clothes including a tail coat and a pair of tap shoes.

Some witches and wizards were making no effort to conceal themselves at all, but simply walked around with their robes flowing proudly.

"Alright this way Neville", prodded his Gran with a hint of patriotism in her voice, "just stand here between platform number nine and ten". Neville's heart raced as he did as his Gran said, his breathing quickened, and he could feel a lurch in his stomach. "Alright now when I say so just lean against the wall and you will slowly fade into platform 9 ¾ ." Neville did as his Gran said and soon he was standing next to a magnificent train with a scarlet pipe blowing steam. His Gran soon followed.

"Alright Neville now you behave while you're here and don't cause any trouble, I will not stand for a delinquent grandson you hear."

"Yes ma'am", said Neville thinking he was too scared to cause any trouble any way.

"Alright now come here", she said, grabbing Neville by the shoulders and turning him towards her. "You write whenever you get home sick", she continued, although she did not sound as convincing as Neville would have liked."You'll be home for Christmas holiday sooner than you think, and maybe by then you'll be able to control your magic better." She said the last part in a kind enough way, but Neville could hear the hopefulness in her tone, and could tell that she vary much wished that he would have something impressive to show to the rest of the family when he returned.

"I'll miss you Gran", Neville said, although even he could hear the small note of gratefulness at being able to get away from her, and her continual nagging.

"Alright well you better get on the train so you can get a compartment", she said, and as he did so he felt a sensation of freedom and relief mixed in with his fears and apprehensions.

He found an empty compartment and settled down as the train slowly began to fill with other students. Then fifteen minutes later as the train started to take off Neville stuck his head out the window along with several other to say a final farewell to his Gran, however when he searched the crowd for her, she was no longer there.


	2. Trevor

Trevor's escape

As Neville sat back down disappointedly he loosened his grip on Trevor. Trevor jumped at the chance to get away from hi clumsy, forgetful owner and jumped out of Neville's hands, and hiding underneath the bench of the compartment in which he and one other girl was sitting.

"OH NO!", Neville cried, thinking how disappointed hid Gran would be in him for already causing chaos.

"What?", Said the girl looking up from here book.

"I've just lost my toad!", said Neville, looking around alarmingly for Trevor.

"You're toad", asked the girl with a confused expression on her face.

"Yes my toad, you know the small green warty things", said Neville beginning to get annoyed and exasperated at the girl.

"I KNOW WHAT A TOAD IS!", she said, obviously quite offended, "I just didn't know anyone actually owned them"

"yea well I do and he's-", but just then Neville spotted a flash of green as Trevor jumped out of the open compartment door, "GONE", said Neville even more exasperated then before.

Neville burst out of their compartment and into the compartment in front of him and. "Sorry", said Neville, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook his head no he lost it, his Gran was going to freak out! "I lost him!", he wailed "He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up" said a rather ragged looking boy on the right.

"Yes well," said Neville already losing hope, "if you see him"

Neville then went back into his cabin looking hopeless, "is that all you're going to do?", asked the girls.

"Well it's hopeless anyway", said Neville

"Oh please", said the girl, in a bossy sort of tone "come on", she said and with that she turned and walked into the other compartment

"Has anyone seen a toad? What's your name?", she asked in an undertone to Neville to where the other two could not hear them.

"Neville" he replied

"Neville's lost one", she said, still maintaining her bossy air.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it", said the red haired boy to the left.

"Oh, are you doing magic?", asked the girl, and for the first time Neville noticed that he was holding a wand.

"Er – all right." Said the boy as the girl sat down. Neville was getting rather tired of standing there, he needed to find Trevor, but before he could mention this the red headed boy began to say a spell.

"_Sunshine, daises, butter mellow_

_Turn this stupid fat rat yellow"_

Neville supposed that the spell was supposed to turn the rat sitting in the boys lap yellow, however when he waved his wand nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" asked the girl. Well it's not very good is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all", but Neville didn't hear the rest of what she said. Wait until Gran heard about this a muggle born.

"I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

At this point Neville was getting extremely irritated he didn't have time to listen to her brag about how good at magic she was, he needed to find Trevor.

"I'm Ron Weasley" said the red headed boy

"I'm Harry Potter" said the ragged looking boy. At this Neville stopped thinking of Trevor right away, his eyes shot up to his forehead, where his scare was just visible through the curtain of hair over them. This was _Harry Potter. _The Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Neville had known all about Harry ever since the day he had defeated Voldermort.

That's just it isn't it, he defeated Voldermort. Neville didn't know the details, few do. What he did know was that Harry and his parents had been in Godric's Hallow when it happened. Voldermort showed up and murdered Harry's parents, and attempted to kill Harry. That was the word that stood out _attempted_ the Dark Lord had been rising to power for eleven years already, and if he wanted you dead, you died, yet he couldn't kill a one year old boy. The spell instead back fired and killed Voldermort instead.

His Gran however had a different idea. She thought Voldermort was still alive, that he had just gone into hiding. Neville was somewhat skeptical of this, seeing as only one person had ever survived the killing curse preformed that night, and he was sitting right in front of Neville. However his Gran had said "What makes this Potter boy better than Voldermort? I bet he's just ashamed, biding his time until he can make a full return, that's what Dumbledore said."

That was another thing Dumbledore. He had never been wrong before, and was undeniably the brightest Wizard of all time. Neville wasn't sure what to think, all he knew was that Harry Potter was sitting in front in him, was in his year, he would be having classes with.

"Any way, we'd better go look for Neville's toad" Hermione said, and with that she turned to leave, with Neville following her

"You go that way" ,she said pointing down one side of the hall, obviously comfortable in taking the lead, "and I'll go this way", she said while stepping out of the compartment and turning down the other hall.

Neville continued down the hall, bursting into every compartment and asking if they had seen the toad. Some were very sympathetic, saying they hoped they found him and offering help (which he declined), Others had had the same reaction as a girl, inquiring why he had a toad in the first place, a few even sniggered and made jokes about it, saying "uh yea I bet he's hiding behind those enormous ears of yours", Neville ignored these people as he was desperately trying to find the toad.

Finally after searching for hours he decided to return to the compartment where the girl was already sitting in her robes. "Any luck", she asked clearly seeing how distraught Neville was.

"None", replied Neville in a half hearted way, his Gran would never let him live this down, just one more way he was not as good as his parents.

"I'm sorry", she replied, sounding genially sympathetic towards Neville, "I'm sure he'll show up"

"Yea, probably when the trains back in London", replied Neville gloomily

"I'm sorry" said Hermione again. "Can you believe that Ronald Weasley, I wouldn't be surprised if he was put in Hufflepuff, but then again I doubt he's a very good friend, that's what Hufflepuff's are supposed to be you know, I'm not even sure if that spelled he used was real."

Neville, however, wasn't really paying attention to the girl he was busy running over the facts in his mind. A) He had lost his toad, B) Harry Potter was on the train C) His Gran would undoubtedly compare him to Harry, seeing as he too had been affected by Voldermort and his minions, and finally D) He would never live up to his Gran's expectations.

"So what house do you think you'll be in?", asked Hermione, pulling Neville out of his thoughts.

"I don't know", said Neville, which was a lie, he was pretty sure he would be put into Hufflepuff, seeing as that house usually contained the worst Wizards, but seeing as Hermione had just made Hufflepuff out to be just that, he decided not to make her think worse of him before he even preformed any magic.

"Well I hope I'm in Gryffindor, that's where the brave kids go, but I wouldn't mind going into Ravenclaw that's where the smart kids go, I do not want to go into Slytherin though, there isn't one student who didn't go bad that was in Slytherin", said Hermione rather quickly.

"I know what the houses are, and what they're supposed to be, my Gran told me all of them, my Mom was in Gryffindor. So you're a muggle born?"

"What about you, are you a half-blood or what?"

"Pure", replied Neville, and he could see the fear rise in Hermione's face, pure bloods were usually awful to muggle borns, "but I don't care what kind of blood you have", Neville was quick to reply, Hermione was the only friend he had made and he didn't want her to think he didn't like her.

"Oh, well that's good, I think that blood shouldn't matter either, I mean Weasley is a pure blood name, but that Ron is about as good a wizard as a six year old.

This hurt Neville, though she had inadvertently done it, she had yet again pointed out how bad a wizard he was, seeing as he hadn't done anything magical until the age of eight.

"Well", said Neville finally pulling on his robes, "I think we're about that". He was in fact correct he could see the small wizarding village of Hogsmeade in the distance.

Just then they heard a loud yell from the compartment next to them were Harry Potter and his friend were sitting.

"Ugh", said Hermione "what are they doing?", with this she got up and began to open the door, and Neville could just see a glimpse of three boys walking out of the compartment before Hermione shut the door.

A few seconds later Hermione came back in, and the conductor's voice echoed through the train telling them to leave their luggage on the train, and that they would be arriving soon. Neville felt a wave of terror as he thought about the sorting, and how his Gran would feel when he was undoubtedly put into Hufflepuff.


	3. The Sorting

Be warned this is quite a long chapter (4,279 to be exact). Sorry, I couldn't help myself. So sit back relax, and please, please, please, review

* * *

><p>The Sorting<p>

As the train pulled to a stop Neville, along with almost every other student, surged toward the door, and he allowed himself to be swept into the flow of people headed toward the doors leading into the cool night air. Immediately his senses were overwhelmed with everything around him, he could feel the night air pushing around him, almost as much as he felt the other students doing the same. He could smell the perfumes and colognes of the student's nearest him, and couldn't help but think how dreadful they all smelled when laced together like that. He could also see a light bobbing over the heads of all the students, and could faintly here a large man yelling over all of the chaos.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Neville followed the sound of the man's voice, along with several other first years. "C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind your step now! Firs' years follow me"

Neville followed the man, who, as far as he could tell, was much larger than a normal man. Neville figured he was a half giant, though he never had figured how the two could mate, one being so much bigger than the other. He had gigantic hands, and was a good three or four feet taller than even the tallest of the first years. He was leading them down a very steep hill of some sort, the only light coming from the lantern the man was holding. All of the first years were having trouble keeping their footing, but none were worse than Neville, his usual clumsiness was definitely not helping during their climb down the steep slope. He kept slipping ever couple of steps, and couldn't help himself from sniffling every now and then, thinking about how terrible his year had been, before he even got a glimpse of the school, however just as Neville thought this, the half giant started speaking again.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, " the man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here".

There was a collective gasp as the school came into sight, and Neville lost his footing once again at the sight of the magnificent castle. He fell and slid a couple feet down the hill, and landed right in front of a great black lake. Neville stood up quickly and wiped himself off, no one seemed to have noticed, they were all too dumbstruck by the incredible sight.

The castle was nestled on top of a majestic mountain. It had many towers, too many to count. The windows shined with light in the dark cold night. It looked like a beacon in the night to Neville, shining as brightly as Neville's hope that things would improve from here.

"No more'n four in a boat," the large man in front called out. Neville looked around and spotted Hermione. He climbed into the seat next to her. When he looked up he saw the red-headed boy again, and could only guess the boy in front of Hermione was Harry Potter, he couldn't believe he had been this close to the famous boy within six hours.

"Everyone in?", called the man once more, Neville couldn't help but notice that the large man had one boat to himself, "Right then-FOWARD"

Neville was awe-struck as the boats took off, no one was saying a word. They were all looking up at the castle sitting in front of them. It was truly magnificent, made of grayish stone, it was the biggest building Neville had ever seen.

"HEADS DOWN!", shouted the man in the front, as the first few boats reached the cliff face. They all bent their heads as the slid through a curtain of ivy hiding a small opening in the cliff face. They continued sailing for another few minutes down a dark passage. It was quite eerie down there. Neville felt like he was underground, something he didn't enjoy. He was terrified, without the light from the castle, Neville's hope seemed to extinguish, and he got more and more nervous the farther down the tunnel they went.

Finally they stopped at some kind of harbor. Kids started filing out of the boats in a semi-dazed sort of way. All seeming to be getting nervous at the thought of entering the castle they had seen only moments ago.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?", Neville jumped as he realized that the large man was talking to him, then he registered what was in his hand.

"Trevor!", he shouted, relieved that his toad had been found. He ran towards the man to retrieve him before following him through a rocky passage. Finally they stepped out onto the smooth dew-covered grass, lying in the shadow of the castle.

They followed them up a flight of stone steps, the anticipation building. "Everyone here?", asked the half-giant, "You there, still got yer toad". Neville nodded, and slightly lifted his hands to show Trevor squirming. Then the man raised his gigantic fists, and knocked three times on the large oak castle door.

Behind the door was a very uptight looking women, she reminded Neville somewhat of his Gran. Her hair was up in a very tight bun and she was wearing long emerald colored robes. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall", said the man in the front.

"Thank you, Hagrid", she said rather briskly, with a stern voice that she seemed quite comfortable in. "I will take them from here", at this the large man, apparently named Hagrid, walked through the door that McGonagall had just opened.

The entrance hall was brilliant, made of the same stone that covered the outside of the castle. It was so large Neville was sure that his entire family could live in it comfortably. The walls were lit with flaming tortures, which only added to the air of old and coziness of the hall. Neville could also see a large marble staircase that led to the upper floors.

The first years followed Professor McGonagall along the hallway. Neville could hear an excited buzz coming from a door to his right, where several students were obviously already gathered, however they didn't go into this door. Instead McGonagall led them into a side chamber. They gathered around her, standing quiet close together wondering what was about to happen.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarted yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Neville felt her eyes linger on his cloak, which he quickly realized was fastened under his left ear. "I will return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

He heard Ron talking to Harry ahead of him. "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Neville's heart began pounding, of course he had asked his Gran about the sorting hat, but he hadn't thought to ask if it hurt. Neville could here Hermione on the other side of him, whispering feverishly about all the spells she had learned. This just made him think more about what he didn't know about magic.

All of a sudden people started screaming, this in turn caused Neville to scream. As he turned around he watched as several ghosts floated through the back door. Neville calmed down upon seeing the pearly transparent figures floating towards him. He had seen ghosts before, many showed up at family reunions, and several others dropped into see his Gran on a regular basis. Most of his family was quite old, and even though he had never quite settled into the fact of knowing people who were neither here nor there, they no longer scared him.

The ghosts started to talk to the students at large, but Neville didn't bother paying attention, even though he wasn't scared of ghosts they made him quite uneasy. He was suddenly snapped back to reality when he heard Professor McGonagall's sharp voice. "Move along now", she called "the Sorting Ceremony's about to start".

One by one the ghosts started to float through the wall, leaving Neville feeling better in their absence. "Now form a line", said the Professor "and follow me."

Neville obey, stepping in line behind Hermione, with a blonde girl in front of him. He could here is own heart beating as he stood there, his mouth had suddenly gone dry. He followed the mass of blonde hair through a pair of large double doors and into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall looked just as his Gran had described it. There were hundreds of candles floating through-out the hall. He looked over at the staff table beside him, as well as out at the other four house tables, laden in golden goblets and plates. Neville's heart jumped as he looked at the Slytherin table, all of the students were wearing menacing sneers. Neville glanced up at the ceiling, and saw it to be as dark as the sky outside, in fact there were shining stars showing across it. Hermione leaned over to Neville, for they were now facing outward towards the rest of the students, and explained that it was bewitched to look like the nights sky.

Neville wouldn't have believed there was a ceiling there at all, except for the fact that it was considerably warmer in the Great Hall then it was outside.

Then Neville saw McGonagall set a four legged stool down, along with the infamous sorting hat. Neville could feel his heart jump into his throat as he stared at the hat. Finally a rip near the brim of the hat opened up, and Neville waited for the song that the hat would sing, explaining the houses, as his Gran had explained. Finally it began-

_Oh you may not think me pretty,__  
><em>_But don't judge on what you see,__  
><em>_I'll eat myself if you can find__  
><em>_A smarter hat than me.__  
><em>_You can keep your bowlers black,__  
><em>_Your top hats sleek and tall,__  
><em>_For I'm the__Hogwarts__Sorting Hat__  
><em>_And I can cap them all.__  
><em>_There's nothing hidden in your head__  
><em>_The Sorting Hat can't see,__  
><em>_So try me on and I will tell you__  
><em>_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in__Gryffindor__,__  
><em>_Where dwell the brave at heart,__  
><em>_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry__  
><em>_Set__Gryffindor__s apart;__  
><em>_You might belong in__Hufflepuff__,__  
><em>_Where they are just and loyal,__  
><em>_Those patient__Hufflepuff__s are true__  
><em>_And unafraid of toil;__  
><em>_Or yet in wise old__Ravenclaw__,__  
><em>_if you've a ready mind,__  
><em>_Where those of wit and learning,__  
><em>_Will always find their kind;__  
><em>_Or perhaps in__Slytherin__  
><em>_You'll make your real friends,__  
><em>_Those cunning folks use any means__  
><em>_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!__  
><em>_And don't get in a flap!__  
><em>_You're in safe hands (though I have none)__  
><em>_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

As the hat finished it's song the hall burst into applause. It graciously bowed to the four tables in front of it, and then became quiet still. It looked quite like a normal hat, however, as everyone in the hall now knew, it was definitely not normal.

"So we've just got to try on the hat", he heard Ron whisper rather poorly from a few people down, "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll". Neville would have laughed if he hadn't been so utterly terrified, after hearing the hat's outlook on the houses , he was no longer sure if he even belonged in Hufflepuff, for he didn't feel just nor loyal, but this house did seem to fit him better than the others, all of whom seemed to expect much more than Neville had to offer.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted", said Professor McGonagall rather matter-of-factly. "Abbott, Hannah!", she called, and the blonde girl in front of Neville stepped forward.

When she placed the hat on her head it fell to cover her eyes, then after a moment's consideration the hat called-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The table to the right cheered as its first new member took off the hat quickly, and went to the table.

"Bones, Susan!", cried McGonagall, as another girl stepped out of line. Again the process was repeated, as the hat fell over her eyes as well. Then-

"HUFFLEPUFF!", Susan, looking rather relived, hurried off to the Hufflepuff table, which cheered again.

"Boot, Terry!", McGonagall said, slowly making her way through the list. After a few moments-

"RAVENCLAW!" Terry took off the hat and shuffled over to the second table from the left, which was now clapping louder than the Hufflepuffs had.

McGonagall continued down the list, with Brocklehurst, Mandy going to Ravenclaw, and Brown, Lavender becoming the first Gryffindor. The table to the far left exploded in the loudest cheers yet as Lavender made her way over. Neville watched as a pair of red-headed twins (obviously Weasleys) cat-called.

Next Bulstrode, Milllicent went to Slytherin, there was no clapping for her, though he didn't seem to mind. Next was Flinch-Fletchley, Justin, he was another Hufflepuff. Neville watched as the line dwindled down, ever so slowly. Some decisions took much longer than others. Whereas most of the Hufflepuffs took only a second, many of the other students sat on the stool much longer. So far Finnigan, Seamus , had been the longest, taking nearly a minute for the hat to shout "GRYFINDOR!".

Next was Granger, Hermione. Neville felt a slight gust of wind as she sprinted past him, and shoved the hat on her head. After a couple seconds of deliberation the hat finally pronounced her-

"GRYFFINDOR!" Neville could hear Ron groan, much closer now than he was before. Neville was getting anxious as the L's slowly approached. Finally as Li, Su was proclaimed a Ravenclaw Neville's heart stopped for a second. Then-

"Longbottom, Neville!", Neville heard McGonagall's crisp voice ring through the hall. His legs felt like they had suddenly been replaced with led, and he stood stock still for a moment. Then he finally started to walk towards the stool as quickly as possible, falling over on his way. As he began to stand up he looked up into a boy with hair so blonde it was almost silver, and noticed as he pulled his foot in quickly, hiding the fact that he had tripped Neville.

Finally Neville made it to the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on his head.

_Well, a Longbottom, I remember your father_, Neville turned his head from one side to the other as he tried to figure out who was talking, before he finally realized it was the hat itself. _I had a hard time with him, courage galore that one, quite nice as well._

"I wish you'd hurry" Neville thought

_Don't like my stories do you Longbottom? Well let's see then, quite like your father. Definitely not Slytherin, oh no no that wouldn't work. Not quite the Ravenclaw cut. Hufflepuff would fit you quite nicely._

"I knew it", thought Neville.

_Becoming predictable, am I? Well I suppose then, you must go to-_

"GRYFFINDOR!" ,after a moment shocked cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, never getting very loud. Neville was so nervous that he ran off with the hat still on his head, leaving the next student (MacDougal, Morag) standing looking rather confused.

_Plan on keeping me Longbottom?_, asked the hat, Neville quickly rushed the hat back up to the awaiting student. After returning to the Gryffindor table, sitting beside Hermione, he breathed a sigh of relief, acknowledging the miraculous turnaround of his evening, even with the few embarrassing slips.

The student called after Morag ("RAVENCALW!") was Malfoy, Draco, Neville's insides gave a lurch as he realized he recognized the student, it was the boy who had tripped him only moments before. The boy swaggered up to the stool, sitting on it proudly, not a bit nervous. Neville wasn't even sure if the hat had made contact with his head before it rang out clear through the hall-

"SLYTHERIN!", Neville saw him walk over to two rather large looking boys, looking rather pleased with himself. Neville looked back at the line of students, which was much smaller now. He waited patiently as the rest of the names were called, though his eyes kept darting back to Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, finally the name was called out, followed by a dusting of surprised whispers.

"_Potter _did she say?", said a boy to Neville's left.

"_The _Harry Potter?", said a girl behind him, apparently the news had not reached many people, the famous child was finally coming to Hogwarts. Many people were craning to get a better look at Harry, though his eyes were now covered by the hat. After a few seconds, the hat shouted out it's decision-

"GRYFFINDOR!", suddenly the Hall was full with Defining cheers, as Harry walked towards them. He could scarcely hear the two Weasley twins shouting "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!", as the other Weasley at the table stood up, and shook Harry's hand. Neville grimaced as the ghost whom Harry had set across from patted his arm, he knew that feeling all too well, and could almost feel the ice coldness on his own arm.

Only three students remained standing by the Staff table now, Thomas, Dean ("GRYFINDOR!"), Turpin, Lisa (RAVENCLAW!), and the red-head, Ron, that had been with Harry, he was an odd greenish color, however Neville was quite sure he had been the exact same color when he had gone up. Anyway, the boy sat on the stool, and was sorted nearly as quickly as Malfoy had been (GRYFFINDOR!), and cheers erupted from his brothers and the other Gryffindors seconded only to Harry's.

As the excitement of the evening died down many students could be heard grumbling about their hunger, and Neville too realized that he was starving.

"Welcome" said a now standing Albus Dumbledore, his silvery white hair and beard flowing, making him look extremely wise. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts", he continued, looking nearly as excited as the students, "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words", there were a few grumbles from the first-years, but the rest of the students looked expectant. "And here they are", he said ignoring the grumbles "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you", and with this odd assortment of words the old man sat down, and as Neville looked down he saw that the empty dishes were now filled with food. He clapped with the rest of the students before digging into the delicious looking meal.

As Neville piled his plate high with everything he could reach, he started listening to the different conversations going on around him. He learned that Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Popington, the Gryffindor ghost, despised being called Nearly Headless Nick, and preferred Sir Nicholas. He also learned that The Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost, and no one knew why he was covered in blood. He also learned that Seamus Finnigan, a sandy haired Irish boy, had a muggle father, and a witch mother making him a "half-and-half".

"What about you, Neville?" asked Ron, Neville was shocked that he had been brought in on the conversation, but answered happily.

"Well, my Gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magical enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad"

After eating more than his fill and then some Neville felt whether groggy, and suddenly wanted to crawl into bed.

"Ahem- just a few more words now that we are all fed", said Dumbledore rising once more from his chair, the entire hall fell silent. "I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Neville caught him looking directly at the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Neville saw no reason to talk to Madam Hooch, even if he DID want to play Quidditch, first-years never made the teams, due only partially to first-years not being allowed to own brooms.

"And finally", Dumbledore continued, "I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." At this Neville shuddered, he would most likely avoid the third floor all together if at all possible, he was easily scared, and the greatest wizard in the world telling him to stay away was more than enough for him.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!", cried Dumbledore with the cheer of a three year old being told he could eat as much sugar as he wanted, with no bed time. Neville however was beginning to get nervous, for he didn't know what the school song was. Almost as if reading his mind however, Dumbledore flicked his wand, and a large golden ribbon flew out of the end, twisting into the words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune", he said with a glow in his eye "and we're off".

The entire school began to sing:

_Hogwarts__,__Hogwarts__, Hoggy Warty__Hogwarts__,__  
><em>_Teach us something, please,__  
><em>_Whether we be old and bald__  
><em>_Or young with scabby knees,__  
><em>_Our heads could do with filling__  
><em>_With some interesting stuff,__  
><em>_For now they're bare and full of air,__  
><em>_Dead flies and bits of fluff,__  
><em>_So teach us things worth knowing,__  
><em>_Bring back what we've forgot,__  
><em>_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,__  
><em>_And learn until our brains all rot._

With the entire school singing different tunes, and at different paces it sounded dreadful. Neville was one of the first to finish, seeing as he rushed through it, so he had ample time to appreciate everyone else's version. The last to finish were the Weasley twins, who seemed to be having a heck of a time with their Funeral March rendition. Dumbledore even led them with waves of his arms when they were the only ones left singing.

"Ah music", said Dumbledore, "A magic beyond all we do! And now, bed time. Off you trot!"

The first years followed Percy to the Gryffindor common room, when they suddenly saw a pile of walking stocks floating in mid-air, and as Percy approached them they began throwing themselves at him. He had a quick screaming match with Peeves the poltergeist who, they quickly learned, was the most mischievous of the ghosts. Finally they made it to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Caput Draconis", said Percy, making the portrait swing open. All of the first years oohed and awed at the magnificent common room, however none of them stuck around very long. All tired from the excitement of the day, and the fullness of their stomach, all five of the Gryffindor first year boys were in bed with in ten minutes of entering the tower. And as Neville nestled into his comfy bed, he couldn't help but think how great the year would be.


End file.
